Gunman, 16, steals French Bulldog from NYC dog walker on Christmas morning
A Queens teen took his French bulldog for a walk on Christmas morning — only to see the pooch snatched away from him at gunpoint by a heartless 16-year-old crook, police said Thursday.
The dog’s 15-year-old owner was outside the Queensbridge Houses on 10th St. near 41st Ave. in Long Island City when the older teen stormed up and whipped out a gun around 9 a.m. Monday, cops said.
“You have 5 seconds to run,” the crook said as he held the pistol to the boy’s chest, according to court papers.
The victim dropped his dog’s leash and ran off.
The mugger then grabbed the leash and walked off with the imperiled pup, named Six, cops said.
The startled victim managed to call police. NYPD Housing Unit cops soon spotted the brazen bandit with Six a few blocks away, near 38th Ave. and 10th St.
When the mugger saw officers approaching, he tossed his loaded 9-mm. pistol over a fence into a parking lot, according to prosecutors.
Cops recovered the weapon and took the teen into custody.
Investigators charged the suspect with menacing, petty larceny and weapon possession. The Daily News is not printing his name because he is a juvenile.
The teen was ordered held on $20,000 bail after a brief arraignment in Queens Criminal Court Tuesday.
“Pulling a gun in broad daylight to steal a dog and then casually taking the animal for a stroll is a kind of dangerous brazenness we will not tolerate under any circumstance,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
Six was happily reunited with its owner.
“The criminal was caught, a firearm was recovered, and the owner and pooch will not be having a RUFF day,” the NYPD tweeted.
Purebred French bulldogs can fetch $30,000 or more and make ideal apartment pets due to their small size and quiet demeanor.
Over the last few years, they’ve been the target of robbers, most notably in the case of pop singer Lady Gaga. Her two pups, Gustav and Koji, were stolen in February 2021 when her dog walker was shot in Los Angeles.
Gaga, who grew up on the Upper West Side, offered a $500,000 reward for the safe return of the pooches.
Her employee, Ryan Fischer, survived the terrifying armed robbery. Gustav and Koji were returned to the Los Angeles Police Department days later by a woman “uninvolved” in the robbery.
Closer to home, in June 2022, a crook followed a woman through a revolving glass door at a Broadway building near Rector St. in the Financial District and bent down to pet her French bulldog. Once he was close enough to the black-and-white pooch, he grabbed hold of the leash, but its quick-thinking 29-year-old owner tugged back, refusing to give up her dog.
As she fought with the would-be thief over the leash, he slammed the dog owner’s head against the glass revolving door before he took off empty-handed.
The pet’s owner was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, and the dog was unharmed.
